91st Symphony (Haydn)

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The symphony No. 91 in E flat major was composed by Joseph Haydn in 1788. Along with the symphonies No. 90 and No. 92, the work was probably originally a reorder for the successful Parisian concert series of the “Loge Olympique”. Haydn then sold the three works a second time to Prince Oettingen-Wallerstein. It is Haydn's last symphony for “small” orchestra, ie without timpani and trumpets.

General

Joseph Haydn (oil painting by Thomas Hardy, 1791)

For the origin of the symphonies nos. 90 to 92 see symphony nr. 90 . In Symphony No. 91, Haydn foregoes the use of timpani and trumpets for the last time. Striking and mostly mentioned in reviews (see below) is the use of polyphonic techniques in the first movement. The autograph is dedicated to the Comte d'Ogny (see Symphony No. 90).

Haydn arrived in London at the beginning of January 1791 (see Symphony No. 93 ). In the postscript to his letter to Frau von Genzinger dated January 8, 1791, Haydn asks for a copy of the score of Symphony No. 91: "Now please send one to Your Grace: I do not know whether I have written the symphony in Eb, If your grace is given back to me, forgotten at home in my quarters, or whether it was estranged from me on the way, because I missed it yesterday and now needed it, I beg you to send it to me through gracious Mister v. To procure Kees. and to write such in your house on small post paper, and to send such as soon as possible by postam anhero. ” In another letter of October 13, 1791, he repeats his request and asks for delivery by the end of January 1792. In this letter he writes , "Since I do not remember the former little Adagio at the beginning of the symphony Ex E mol" the first four bars from the Allegro up. In addition to the letter of December 20, 1791, Haydn asks twice before he receives the score:

Letter of January 17, 1792: “Well, my English, madam, would like to quarrel a little with you, how often did I repeat my request, the symphony Ex E mol, of which I once wrote the subject, on small post paper to be sent by post to anhero. I've been sighing for a long time, and if I don't get it by the end of the next month, I'll lose 20 quinees. "

Letter dated February 2, 1792: “… Hoped to find the symphony in E mol, which has been requested for so long and so often! Madam! I urgently ask you to send it to me as soon as possible on small post paper anhero, without delay,… ”.

Letter of March 2, 1792: “Yesterday evening I received Dero strong letters including the requested symphony: Obediently kiss your grace on the hands for the so slim and careful transmission. I had the same 6 days before from Brussels through Mr. Keess received; but the score was so much more pleasant for me because I have to change a lot of it for the English. "

Examples of reviews:

“The E flat major Symphony No. 91 by JOSEPH HAYDN (...) also has some details that will delight the connoisseur: The main theme of the first movement is a two-part structure in the so-called double counterpoint of the octave (...). In the middle section there are other contrapuntal voices, which are then brought to a common culmination at the end of the movement. The second movement, a variation movement, has some humorous effects such as the long trill parts just before the end, which sound as if the whole orchestral apparatus has gotten out of control. The final movement awaits the connoisseur with further compositional delicacies: z. B. individual segments are cut out of the main theme in order to be used for accompaniment etc. "

“The work, which is overshadowed by the“ Paris ”and“ London ”symphonies, has not really caught on in public concert life. The reason for its comparatively low popularity lies primarily in the first sentence. On the one hand, one does not perceive the introductory, twenty-bar Largo (...) as a contrast to the rapid main theme, which only appears to be a reversal of the last introductory bars. On the other hand, the main idea of ​​the Allegro assai clearly bears the traces of exertion and what has been “learned”. (...) Only from bar 36 does the music become more heartfelt, appealing more to “lovers” than to “connoisseurs”. (…) In the (…) finale, the second theme is also shaped by the intervals of the sixth and seventh, which dominate the first theme. Because of the ingenuity with which the two intervals are changed in the development, this movement appears to be the strongest in the entire symphony. "

To the music

Instrumentation: flute , two oboes , two bassoons , two horns , two violins , viola , cello , double bass . There are different opinions about the involvement of a harpsichord or fortepianos as a continuo instrument in Haydn's symphonies.

Performance time: approx. 25 minutes.

When it comes to the sonata form used here, it should be noted that this model was only designed at the beginning of the 19th century (see there). - The description and structure of the sentences given here is to be understood as a suggestion. Depending on the point of view, other delimitations and interpretations are also possible.

First movement: Largo - Allegro assai

Largo: E flat major, 3/4 time, time 1-20

The symphony opens with a solemn chord progression in the forte. In contrast, two three-bar, thought-provoking phrases follow piano, in which the flute and 1st violin lead the part. The second phrase begins as an E flat major - scale upwards, from bar 12 the chord progression follows from the beginning as a variant. The following piano phrase is five measures, it starts and ends in a flat. The A -flat in bar 20 appears together with the other notes as a seventh to a B major chord (B major as dominant to E flat major, ie dominant seventh chord). The Bb is emphasized mainly by the low register in the bassoon, the whole chord is sustained with a fermata .

Allegro assai: E flat major, 3/4 time, measures 21-268

Beginning of Allegro assai, 1st violin and cello, bars 1–8

The “learned” theme (first theme or main theme) is presented by the strings piano. It is characterized by a chromatic and gradual ascending line and a descending line in equal quarters. The voice distribution is structured in such a way that in the first eight bar ( antecedent ) the upper voices (1st and 2nd violins run in parallel) play the chromatically ascending line, the bass (viola, cello, double bass also run in parallel) the descending line. In the second eight-bar (follow-up) it is the other way round (the theme is structured in double counterpoint : upper and lower parts can be swapped). A final turn closes the 16-bar theme and in bar 36 leads to a lively tutti with a double strike and knock motif.

A contrasting second theme is missing, in its place there is a variant of the first (from bar 57, B flat major): The rising head of the theme is played by the 2nd violin, the bass accompanies the descending countermovement. After five bars, the 1st violin, which had previously played another falling motif similar to that of voices ("Countermotive 1"), takes over the theme, while the flute and then the oboe join in with a short phrase. The extended final group starts from bar 70 as a forte block. After energetic triplet and unison movement in staccato and the appearance of the theme head in fortissimo (bars 82 ff.), A piano section follows, in which a four-bar string motif (final group motif 1) is led upwards in three “steps” in the circle of fifths: from D flat major to A flat major, from E flat minor to B flat major. The third shift begins in F minor and leads to a further, once repeated forte motif (final group motif 2), which oscillates between F and B major. The exposition ends in bar 119 with triplets in the dominant B flat major .

Haydn begins the development with the triplet movement from the end of the final group in the contrast between forte and piano. From bar 128, the processing of the antecedent of the main theme begins, followed by triplet runs and (as a voice against the theme head) a new motif in the woodwinds ("counter-motif 2"). Ludwig Finscher writes about this: “The development introduces a new technique of thematic work that is otherwise rarely found not only in Haydn, but in the entire Classical period: the change of the theme through counter-motifs added in contrapuntal - a consequence, as it were, of the construction of the main clause in double counterpoint (...). “ After an energetic passage with the double beat motif (similar to that from bar 36) and staccato movement, there follows a calm flute solo with a suggestion motif (starting in G flat major, ending in A flat major). A forte block with triplet runs leads back to the recapitulation.

The recapitulation (bars 192 ff.) Is different from the exposition: The headline appears four times (1st at the beginning of the recapitulation in the bass accompanied by figurative eighth-note voices of the violins; 2nd bar 202 over sustained Bb in the bass; 3rd bar 215 with opposing voice 2 in the 1st oboe; 4th bar 222 energetically in fortissimo according to bar 82 ff). The “second topic” is left out. After the final group motifs 1 and 2, a coda follows from bar 245 , which takes up the final group motif 2 in the first violin piano and continues. In bar 253, the voices are condensed again in a four-part movement for four bars: the two voices of the main theme (1st part "ascending line": 2nd oboe, 2nd violin; 2nd part "descending line": bassoon , Cello, double bass), the counter-motif 1 (flute, 1st oboe) and the counter-motif 2 (viola). The movement ends with runs and chords on Eb. The exposition and development with recapitulation are repeated.

Second movement: Andante

2/4 time, B flat major, 154 bars The Andante is a set of variations with four variations on a theme.

Beginning of the Andante, 1st and 2nd violin, bars 1 to 4
  • Presentation of the theme (bars 1–24): The main melody has a simple, song-like character with a distinctive, twice "throbbing" prelude and an imitative beginning. The eight-bar melody is built up periodically. The entire theme consists of three eight bars in two sections, both of which are repeated (bars 1–8 and 9–24). Except for the fortissimo final chords, only the strings play. The third eight-bar (bar 17 ff.) Contains accents and a harmonic “surprise effect” (unexpected appearance of G flat with accent, resolution after A flat).
  • In Variation 1 (bars 25-48) the solo bassoon leads the part, accompanied by the strings (1st violin in triplets).
  • Variation 2 (bars 49–86) is in B flat minor and contains trills. The strings begin, with the written repetition the winds accompany with spotted, echo-like eighth notes on the unstressed beat time ( syncope ). From bar 77 the flute plays a short, free counterpart to the voice leading in the 1st violin.
  • The 3rd variation (bars 87–118) begins with the melody in flute and 1st violin, the cello plays continuous staccato runs. During the repetition, the whole orchestra begins forte and decorates the melody with trills.
  • At the beginning of the 4th variation (bars 119–154) the bass leads the voice, accompanied by an opposing voice with dotted rhythm in the violins. The second section of the theme (bars 135 ff.) Is characterized by the dominance of trills in the accompanying parts (initially: flute and violins, when repeated in the forte: flute, oboes, viola, cello). After this increase, the movement ends cautiously in pianissimo.

"The second movement, a variation movement, has some humorous effects such as the long trills just before the end, which sound as if the whole orchestral apparatus has gotten out of control."

"(...) in which the second half of the last variation is dissolved into an unbelievable sound effect, chains of trills first in the flute and violins, then in flute, oboes, violas and cellos (...)."

Third movement: Menuet. Un poco Allegretto

3/4 bars, E flat major, with trio 66 bars

Menuet, 1st violin, bars 1 to 4

The main thematic component of the minuet consists of two motifs: an upbeat and ascending, somewhat solemn quarter movement (opening motif) and a more gallant triplet figure (triplet motif). After the presentation of the theme in the forte, in which the opening motif is presented in staccato with large leaps in intervals , another piano four-bar follows, in which the first violin leads the opening motif (opening now legato instead of staccato, chromatics instead of large interval leaps) above plays the flute in a chromatically ascending line. This and the triplets can be understood as a link to the first movement. The second part of the minuet begins with the 22-bar middle section, in which Haydn uses both motifs, e.g. B. with echo effect (triplet motif) and over a nine-bar organ point on B (opening motif). When the main theme is resumed (bars 31 ff.) The triplet passage is extended.

The trio is also in E flat major and is mainly held in piano / pianissimo. The bassoon and 1st violin are the leading parts and play their rural melody, accompanied by the horn and the other strings in pizzicato . At the beginning of the second part, first the horn and then the 1st oboe make syncopated interjections (accent on the unstressed time). When the main theme is resumed, the flute plays its own counterpart variant of the theme.

Fourth movement: Finale. Vivace

E flat major, 2/2 bars (alla breve), 231 bars

Vivace, 1st and 2nd violin, bars 1 to 4

The first theme (or main theme, since the movement is mainly determined by the head motif of the theme) is eight bars and periodically structured (two four bars or four eight bars). It is first introduced by the violins and the viola piano (leading part: 1st violin). The two-bar “questioning” theme with its ascending sixth and seventh is particularly memorable, the two-bar “answer” also contains two suggestions and a closing eighth note. Even at the beginning there is a continuous eighth note movement in the accompaniment, which also contributes significantly to the impulse of the movement in the further course. The theme is then repeated an octave lower and with bass accompaniment (bars 9-16). The transition begins as a forte block of the entire orchestra with the unscrewing theme and then continues as a dance-like eighth note movement.

There is no "second theme" that contrasts with the initial theme. In its place in bar 41 in the dominant B flat major, the strings begin, offset by the theme. After just four bars, however, the turn to forte follows again with a danceable eighth note figure. After a general pause as a caesura, the final group follows (bars 55 ff.) With its somewhat hesitant motif, interrupted by pauses, with two tone repetitions (knocking), which causes the current flow of music to stall for a short time. The "knocking motif" is then taken up energetically and leads to a syncope passage (from bar 70) via a running figure of the violins. After the head of the topic is again emphasized in unison, the exposition ends with a questioning variant of the head of the topic in the dialogue of the oboes and violins.

In the development (from bar 85), the main theme is dealt with by changing the keys, cloudiness to minor, occurrence of the theme head in the bass instead of the upper parts (e.g. from bar 92, upper parts with accompanying syncopation) and motifs split off (e.g. Emphasis on the second (sigh motif) of the theme head from measure 93 in the bass, from measure 112 in the 1st violin over a lying ace in the bass). The passage is also characterized by alternation between calm piano and energetic forte passages. After a falling line that is sequenced four times downwards (from bar 126) and a questioning dialogue between the oboes and the violins, the development ends “openly” on an emphatic dominant seventh chord (ie B major - seventh chord) and a general pause as a caesura.

The recapitulation (from bar 145) is structured similarly to the exposition. In the passage of the “second theme”, which, as expected, is now also in the tonic in E flat major, the 1st violin already plays its own eighth note accompanying figure after two bars, which is initially countervailing and develops into an unscrewing movement. In the final group, Haydn then places a variant of the syncope motif in front of the knock motif. The final group is expanded like a coda (from around bar 211) in that, in addition to the knocking motif, the head of the topic is emphasized again. The exposition and development with recapitulation are repeated.

See also

List of Joseph Haydn's symphonies

Web links, notes

Individual references, comments

  1. ↑ Quotations of the letters in the following from Anthony van Hoboken: Joseph Haydn. Thematic-bibliographical catalog raisonné, Volume I. Schott-Verlag, Mainz 1957, pp. 169–170.
  2. ↑ Haydn asked Frau von Genzinger for a copy of the score, while Herr von Kees had the symphony transcribed for him in parts (van Hoboken 1957, p. 170)
  3. ^ A b Information text on the 91st symphony in the project “100 & 7” of the Haydn Festival in Eisenstadt. http://www.haydn107.com/index.php?id=2&sym=91 , accessed September 14, 2011.
  4. ↑ a b Uwe Kraemer: Symphony No. 91 in E flat major (Hob. I: 91). In: Wulf Konold (Hrsg.): Lexikon Orchestermusik Klassik A - K. B. Schott's Sons, Mainz 1992, ISBN 3-7957-8224-4 , pp. 177-179.
  5. ↑ Examples: a) James Webster: On the Absence of Keyboard Continuo in Haydn's Symphonies. In: Early Music Volume 18 No. 4, 1990, pp. 599-608); b) Hartmut Haenchen : Haydn, Joseph: Haydn's orchestra and the harpsichord question in the early symphonies. Booklet text for the recordings of the early Haydn symphonies. , online (accessed June 26, 2019), to: H. Haenchen: Early Haydn Symphonies , Berlin Classics, 1988–1990, cassette with 18 symphonies; c) Jamie James: He'd Rather Fight Than Use Keyboard In His Haydn Series . In: New York Times , October 2, 1994 (accessed June 25, 2019; showing various positions by Roy Goodman , Christopher Hogwood , HC Robbins Landon and James Webster). Most orchestras with modern instruments currently (as of 2019) do not use a harpsichord continuo. Recordings with harpsichord continuo exist. a. by: Trevor Pinnock ( Sturm und Drang symphonies , archive, 1989/90); Nikolaus Harnoncourt (No. 6-8, Das Alte Werk, 1990); Sigiswald Kuijken (including Paris and London symphonies ; Virgin, 1988-1995); Roy Goodman (e.g. Nos. 1-25, 70-78; Hyperion, 2002).
  6. ↑ derived from the scales in the introduction, interpretable (Howard Chandler Robbins Landon: The Symphonies of Joseph Haydn. Universal Edition & Rocklife, London 1955, p. 409).
  7. ↑ a b c Ludwig Finscher: Joseph Haydn and his time . Laaber-Verlag, Laaber 2000, ISBN 3-921518-94-6 , p. 351 ff.
  8. ↑ possibly derived from the phrase in the final group motif, bar 90, interpretable
  9. ↑ a b In some recordings the second repetition of the development and recapitulation is not observed.